Amir and the uprooted tree

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Amir Hajric, aged 22, lives in Dobrinja, the suburb of Sarajevo that had been on front line during the war. This area had been completely destroyed and the vegetation had disappeared. People used wood from trees cut down for firewood. Today the place is green in a way I could never have imagined during the war. When I showed the picture of Amir in the street no one recognized him. Then an old teacher at the Skender Kulenovic primary school remembered the name of this exuberant teenager. But I did not have his address. Who could guide me better than a postman? That is how I happened to knock on the door of the Hajric family in 2006. The teenager had grown up but his face was still recognizable. The whole family gathered, amused and moved around this old photo.
“My name is Amir and I live in Dobrinja. As you can see, many things have changed. The neighbourhood has been rehabilitated, buildings restored. Both the trees and myself have grown up. A few years ago I finished high school and afterwards went to university. For the past nine years, I’ve been playing football and I’m training seriously. In fact I would like to become the coach of a major football team. The past is the past.I look ahead towards the future. It makes me dream and I need that. I’m a fan of Inter Milan. My favourite player is Adriano, the Brazilian. I want to become a big star like him. That’s my dream one day playing in with Inter Milan and who knows… I think that sometimes dreams turn into reality.”